Methods and apparatus for handling horses have been the subject of much invention and development for centuries. The basic multi-strapped halter and attached lead lines are known in many different forms, each form providing a response to the particular equine-related needs to be met as well as to the availability and cost of materials from which the articles may be fabricated. Halters vary from simple rough and ready designs to the intricate and ornate, and lead lines--as compared to reins and harnesses--have tended to be mostly utilitarian in design and function. Historically, a lead line has been viewed as merely a length of rope affixed to a halter or to the animal's neck to provide some degree of control for a horse handler.
Descriptions of typical prior art approaches to lead line structures, and their interactions with and interconnections to horse halters may be found in a number of U.S. and foreign patent documents.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,989 to Swanson et al. discloses an adjustable animal collar formed from flexible webbing material which includes an adjustable loop to implement a choke collar, particularly directed for use with dogs.
European patent document 0 018 915 to Le Tixerant provides a good example of a Y-shaped lead line adapted to attach to both sides of a horse halter. The function of this lead line, which includes a pair of swivel snaps, is stated as allowing the horse to be led from either the left or right side.
Two U.S. design patents provide showings of halter ropes and lead lines whose structures are worthy of scrutiny. Design Patent 391,694 to Eichhorn discloses a self-shortening halter rope having a pair of swivel snaps which appear to be attachable to a halter, but it is unclear how the shortening action is accomplished. And, Design Patent 156,177 to Kinskie shows a lead line (in phantom) threaded through a pair of halter side rings, but the distance between the rings appears to be fixed.
Two early U.S. patents (issued in the 1880's) are of interest for their showings of hitching ropes having generally Y-shaped lead lines which attach to each of a pair of side rings that are integral parts of horse halters. These are U.S. Pat. No. 0,398,965 to Hunt wherein snaps G and H attach to rings I and J; and U.S. Pat. No. 0,379,056 to Dowlin wherein a hitching rope p is looped through left and right rings d.
While each of these prior art approaches function more or less adequately, they have not to date provided the ease of control afforded by the present lead line assembly--which greatly improves the ability to handle the horse being led.